The Ondo State Security Network Agency, also known as Amotekun Corps, has arrested 150 persons for their alleged involvement in various criminal activities in the state.

One of the suspects, Timothy Odeniyi, was allegedly arrested with human parts.

The 35-year-old was reportedly arrested on Sunday in Ondo town, Ondo West Local Government Area of the state.

Parading the suspect in Akure, the state capital, on Monday, the Commander of Amotekun Corps in the state, Akogun Adeleye, alleged that Odeniyi killed a man, severed his body parts and buried his remains in a shallow grave.

He said, “We want to intimate the public on the need to be very careful. Of late, the trend is shifting gradually from daily kidnapping to ritual killings. The public should be careful of the craze to make money by these young men.

“We have a suspect in our custody, Timothy Odeniyi, who was caught and arrested with the legs and hands of a human being wrapped in paper. Upon interrogation, he took us to where he severed the body of the person and hurriedly buried the person in a shallow grave.

“He was arrested in Ondo town and committed the crime on January 30, 2022. We want to warn the public to be careful of who they go out with. We have a number of them that we are still investigating who will go out with their girlfriends solely for the purpose of killing them for ritual purposes.”

Odeniyi, who used to be a truck driver in one of the breweries in the country, said his former boss promised to pay him N30m to bring the human parts to Lagos.

He said the former boss, who worked in the waste section of the company, wanted to use the body parts for rituals.

The suspect said, “I went to the burial ground to cut the legs and hands of one of the corpses buried there. Before I was caught, I had planned to take the human parts to the person that sent me in Lagos. He promised to pay me N30m once I deliver the items.

“I only went to the burial ground in the Sabo area of Ondo town to cut the parts. I did not kill anybody and this was my first time. I used to be a trailer driver. The person that sent me used to be my boss when I used to drive trucks.”

Meanwhile, the Amotekun commander, who paraded other suspects, said they were involved in kidnapping, armed robberies and vandalism.

He added that some underage herders, as well as criminals who disguised as scavengers, were also part of the 150 suspects.

He said, “Within this January, we arrested about 150 suspects for various crimes and out of them, 32 are still with us.

“Some of them were suspected kidnappers, armed robbers and some were involved in the vandalisation of 132 KVA power lines under construction. Some of them were ex-convicts who ran away from prison; some jumped bail and were rearrested. Some pretended to be scavengers, but we found weapons, guns and locally-made pistols in their trolleys.

“The teenagers among the suspects were caught contravening the underage anti-open grazing law. They were found to be grazing with about 300 cows. They were about 10 to 11 years of age. We are still waiting for their parents to come and face the music.

“Some of them will be handed over to the police for further investigation, especially the homicide issues. After discreet investigation, the remaining ones will be taken to court for prosecution.”

PUNCH

Pensioners in Ekiti have resorted to seeking spiritual intervention over their N2 billion unpaid gratuities by the state government among other challenges.

The pensioners attended an interdenominational prayer session at the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Pensioners, NUP, Oke-Bareke in Ado-Ekiti.

Some of the pensioners who were moved to tears, prayed God to touch the heart of the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, to pay the arrears of their gratuities and pensions.

The pensioners also prayed for the growth of the economy and peace in Nigeria, particularly during the forthcoming elections.

Speaking after the prayers, the NUP Chairman, Ekiti State chapter, Mr. Joel Akinola, lamented that many pensioners in Ekiti died without getting their benefits while some were battling with various illnesses due to lack of funds to treat themselves.

According to him: “Ekiti Government owes gratuities to the tune of N2 billion and outstanding pensions accumulating to millions of naira. We hope that the governor would pay a substantial amount of the debt before leaving office. Each time there is transition of power; it is often difficult to agitate or confront the new governor because they will be quick to tell you that they are not the ones owing us. We have laboured and served our nation and state meritoriously for 35 years, we deserve better than what we have been getting.”

He appealed to the state government to endeavour to pay them to enable the few still alive make use of the money to take good care of themselves.

Earlier in an exhortation, the Chief Imam of Ansarudeen Central Mosque, Ado Ekiti, Imam Abdullahi AbdulMutallib, urged the pensioners to build more faith in God, saying: “He will touch the hearts of those in government to attend to their needs.”

Also, Pastor Isaac Ojo urged the pensioners not to be discouraged by their present situation, saying that “God is able to intervene.”

Over 12 persons were killed after a group of gunmen attacked repentant bandits in Illela village, Safana Local Government Area of Katsina State.

Residents who fled the village to the neighboring communities including Dutsin-ma and Ƙankara told Channels Television on Monday that the gunmen attacked them in the early hours of Friday.

According to the residents, the gunmen came on a mission to attack a repentant bandit popularly known as Mani Turwa, who was said to be protecting the community.

Turwa and his team after their repentance were said to have been guarding the village and other neighbouring communities against attacks.

The bandits led by four of their leaders attacked on Friday and they engaged Turwa and his team in a gun duel.

They were, however, overpowered by Turwa’s team and several rustled domestic animals were recovered from them.

The bandits were displeased by Turwa’s action, and they returned in reprisal destroying houses and killing innocent residents.

“The terrorists came on several motorcycles and operated for four hours. They had a gun duel with Turwa and his boys but they were defeated. None of Turwa’s family and his boys were injured. The terrorists later returned to burn our houses and property, especially some of us who are in the Alhazana area of the village.

“At least twelve people were killed and they were buried on Sunday. Many of us have relocated because of fears,” one of the residents who spoke under condition of anonymity explained to Channels Television.

The Police Spokesman, SP Gambo Isah in reaction said he cannot ascertain the number of people killed but joint security agents have been deployed to the village.

“All I can tell you, for now, is that we received a report from the DPO in charge of Safana that Illela was under attack. And that was on January 27.

“Our operatives and that of the Nigerian Army are already there to ward off the terrorists and maintain peace there. As for the number of victims, honestly, I cannot give you the details until we receive a report from our operatives on the ground there. But, peace has already returned there,” he said.

Repentant Turwa
In April 2021, Mani Turwa, one of the most notorious bandits in the Safana – Danmusa – Batsari axis, surrendered his arms to the police.

Turwa was said to have convinced other bandits living in the Illela forest neighbouring the dreaded Rugu forest to also surrender their arms and turn a new leaf.

Those who repented include Sale Turwa (Mani’s relative), Ado Sarki, and Sani Mai Daji.